This happened in Covid days when we were having online classes. I was like 11 or 13 back then. I didn’t have a phone of my own, my computer (that I bought with my own money) had its RAM sticks damaged and I didn’t have the money for a new one, so I was trapped in-doors with nothing to do whatsoever.
But when the online Zoom classes kicked in, I like everybody else would just get on, exit the window and do whatever I want. Since I had no access to technology whatsoever, my older sister would give me her tablet so that I can “attend”. Since it was the only time of day I had access to anything technology related, I wanted more.
The tablet was, of course, password protected with a PIN. I started trying to brute force my way into it when my sister wasn’t home but you can imagine how that went. But I realised that the screen makes these smol tracks when you touch it that are usually never visible until a lot of them happen. And so, I got an idea.
I deep-cleaned the screen with alcohol and stuff to get it shining smooth, and every day my sister unlocks it for me I’d lock it again and wait for her to go out. I’d then spend a few hours with the brightest light shined on the screen spotting every single scratch and print I can find and noting them down. After I get a set of numbers, I’d simply brute force my way through the order of numbers and there you go, password cracked.
I cracked it the first time and started using rhe tablet unauthorized, until she caught me and changed the lock. But then, I did it again, and again, and again. It went on for over a year with this cat and mouse. Sometimes she’d use passwords that are actually made with letters, which would take a few days to crack because the prints would overlap multiple characters, but I still did it every time. When she uses these hold and swipe a sequence passwords I’d just follow the trail.
She started going crazy thinking I was recording her room and seeing the passwords she inputs that way. I do regret it now seeing how much of a privacy violation it was, but looking back if is kind of the funniest crap ever.
She never knew how I was doing it until I told her myself just last week 😂
Tl;dr: over a year of cat and mouse with me tracking my sister’s fingerprints to illegally access her tablet, and whe went crazy.